Photo caption: 5th grade Heather Hagar with students at Cannon Elementary, a GCISD STEM school in Grapevine, Texas.

When principal Dr. Tina Garrett sees an excited fifth-grade class engaging with technology, she feels a sense of pride to know the students will become astronomers, doctors, entrepreneurs, creative professionals and community-builders.“We’re growing the future,” says Garrett, who leads the commitment to empower all students with real-world technology skills at Cannon Elementary, a GCISD STEM school in Grapevine, Texas.

Her efforts include using the new CompTIA Spark curriculum, designed by technology experts to inspire students in middle grades to see technology in a different way. Garrett says the free curriculum fills an important educational gap with its focus on middle grades, which is a critical point to engage students and open their minds to future opportunities.

Building Skills, Building Confidence

“Our students are flexible; they are capable and the skills that they’re acquiring from a curriculum like CompTIA Spark is phenomenal. They’re our future problem-solvers. They just need an opportunity to analyze, to design, to create and to go back and iterate,” says Garrett. “Every time our students talk about CompTIA Spark, they spark.”

Curriculum topics span from tech fundamentals to emerging technologies such as AI and cybersecurity and are designed to meet students where they are, regardless of their previous technology or computer experience — ensuring that tech education is fun, engaging and accessible for all students to increase participation and the impact of the program. Teachers and students access the curriculum via an online learning management system featuring best-in-class platform and systems integrations.

Teacher Heather Hagar sees the impact of the curriculum in her classroom. She says that with each success with the technology units, students are encouraged to take further risks in their learning. She added that students who previously were very timid in class are now taking more of a leadership role after feeling confident in what they’ve been able to do.

Engaging Students of All Levels and Interests

While students are focused on the fun of the CompTIA Spark curriculum, they are not only building vital tech skills, but also confidence, a growth mindset and 21^st century skills. Games, videos and a variety of activities exposing students to technology concepts keep the learning experience engaging, according to students, who are exploring chatbots and cybersecurity, as well as everyday digital tools and creative technology.

“My favorite CompTIA Spark project is probably the lunar cruise spaceships because we got to use Tinkercad and we got to 3D print our own lunar cruise rocket ship. Some of them didn’t work out because the parts didn’t work, but then the next time we did it, we got it right because of the mistakes we learned from,” explains Tennyson, a fifth grader at Cannon Elementary.

And while schools don’t need technological equipment, like a 3D printer, to successfully integrate the curriculum, providing exposure to new types of technology opens student minds to new possibilities.

For example, Tennyson’s classmate Araya thinks that her new skills will be helpful as a doctor working with patients who need prosthetics. Crawford, who aims to be an entrepreneur, is ready for anything, saying, “This is a really fun learning opportunity and to get us ready for different stuff in the future. You don’t know what’s up in the future, so it’s good to learn it early on.”

Real-World Activities from Industry Experts

A key part of preparing students for whatever careers the future may hold is focusing on foundational skills, says Kyle Berger, chief technology officer for Grapevine-Colleyville ISD. He sees the partnership with CompTIA Spark as ensuring a high-quality curriculum keeping pace with the technology concepts — so that students can build important skills needed in high school and beyond for a future that is yet unknown.

“The biggest challenge we have is bridging that gap between the way our kids live and the way they learn. It’s beyond just coding. It’s about collaboration, communication, teamwork, all these aspects. All of our students aren’t going to be programmers; they’re not going to be coders. But I guarantee you, they’re going to need to be communicators and collaborators in anything they do,” says Berger.

Every School Can Change the Lives of Students

With seven teachers and 180 students now using CompTIA Spark curriculum throughout the district, Garrett says more teachers are excited to introduce the curriculum to their own classrooms — especially as no previous tech teaching experience is necessary to implement the curriculum.

“There’s a misconception that you have to be a specific type of school to bring in technology education,” she notes, adding that while her school is a STEM school, the curriculum would help change the lives of students at any school.

“I want every educator to see what this does, what this can do for our kids,” she says. “We are in this field to change our community, to advocate for kids so that they can equip themselves with the skills to change the future.”